The Connecticut Law Journal, Volume LXXIX, No. 22, for November 28, 2017 is now available.

Contained in this issue is the following:

• Table of Contents
• Volume 327: Orders (Pages 959 - 962)
• Volume 327: Cumulative Table of Cases Connecticut Reports
• Volume 178: Connecticut Appellate Reports (Pages 258 - 372)
• Volume 178: Cumulative Table of Cases Connecticut Appellate Reports
• Miscellaneous Notices
• Notices of Connecticut State Agencies

• Posted in:
• Connecticut Law Journal,
• Recent Opinions

The 2017 edition of our research guide on Discovery (Financial) in Family Matters has been posted to our website. A new table of case decisions on dissipation of assets has been added.

• Posted in:
• FYI,
• Legal Research,
• Self-Help

AC38712 - GMAC Mortgage, LLC v. Ford ("The self-represented defendant in this residential mortgage foreclosure action, Eric M. Ford, appeals from the judgment of the trial court granting the motion of the plaintiff Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., as Trustee for Harborview Mortgage Loan Trust 2006-10 (Wells Fargo), to open a judgment of strict foreclosure and to extend the law days, and denying the defendant's motion to open the judgment. On appeal, the defendant claims that (1) in light of the United States Supreme Court's decision in Jesinoski v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., ___ U.S. ___, 135 S. Ct. 790, 190 L. Ed. 2d 650 (2015), the trial court erred in granting the plaintiff's motion to open and denying his motion to open; and (2) the plaintiff lacks standing to maintain this action. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

• Posted in:
• Foreclosure Law,
• Recent Opinions

AC38418 - Meletrich v. Commissioner of Correction ("The petitioner, Angel Meletrich, appeals following the denial of his petition for certification to appeal from the judgment of the habeas court denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. On appeal, the petitioner claims that the habeas court abused its discretion in denying his petition for certification to appeal and erred in not finding that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to call the petitioner's aunt as an additional alibi witness during the petitioner's criminal trial. We disagree and, accordingly, dismiss the appeal.")

AC39286 - Lebron v. Commissioner of Correction ("The petitioner, Luis Lebron, appeals from the judgment of the habeas court dismissing his third petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to General Statutes § 52-470 (b). The petitioner claims on appeal that, in reaching its determination that no good cause existed to proceed to trial, the habeas court improperly concluded that he had waived many of his claims by entering a guilty plea in the underlying criminal action and relied in part on an affirmative defense that was not pleaded by the respondent, the Commissioner of Correction, in his return. We conclude that the habeas court properly dismissed counts one through four of the petition, but improperly dismissed the entirety of counts five and six. Accordingly, we affirm in part and reverse in part the judgment of the habeas court.")

AC39467 - Carmon v. Commissioner of Correction ("The petitioner, Adam Carmon, appeals from the judgment of the habeas court, dismissing in part and denying in part, his fourth petition for a writ of habeas corpus. On appeal, the petitioner claims that the habeas court improperly concluded that he failed to establish that (1) the state had violated Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S. Ct. 1194, 10 L. Ed. 2d 215 (1963), by withholding critical exculpatory evidence at the time of his criminal trial, (2) his criminal trial counsel, first habeas counsel, and second habeas counsel all had provided ineffective assistance, and (3) he was entitled to immediate release on the basis of actual innocence. We affirm the judgment of the habeas court.")

• Posted in:
• Habeas Corpus Law,
• Recent Opinions

AC37582 - State v. Davis (Accessory to murder; "This case returns to us on remand from our Supreme Court; see State v. Davis, 325 Conn. 918, 163 A.3d 618 (2017); with direction to consider the claim of plain error raised by the defendant, Paul Davis, in light of its decision in State v. McClain, 324 Conn. 802, 155 A.3d 782 (2017). We now consider the defendant's appeal from the judgment of conviction of accessory to murder in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-54a (a) and 53a-8 (a), in which he claimed that the trial court committed plain error by improperly instructing the jury that it was not necessary for the state to prove that the defendant intended to kill the victim to find him guilty of accessory to murder.

Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

AC38979 - State v. Fowler (Revocation of probation; "The defendant, Jamarr Fowler, appeals from the judgment of the trial court revoking his probation and imposing a previously suspended three year prison sentence. On appeal, the defendant claims that the trial court improperly (1) found a violation of probation on the basis of insufficient evidence; (2) determined that the Office of Probation had authority to include a probation condition that the defendant must submit to global positioning system (GPS) monitoring; and (3) denied the defendant's motion to dismiss. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

AC38916 - State v. Walker (Murder; "This case returns to us on remand from our Supreme Court; see State v. Walker, 325 Conn. 920, 163 A.3d 619 (2017); with direction to consider the claim of plain error raised by the defendant, Joseph Walker. In our previous opinion, we reversed the judgment only with respect to the defendant's conviction of conspiracy to commit robbery in the first degree. State v. Walker, 169 Conn. App. 794, 812, 153 A.3d 38 (2016), remanded for consideration, 325 Conn. 920, 163 A.3d 619 (2017).

We affirmed the judgment in all other respects. Id. As to the defendant's claim that the trial court committed plain error by failing to instruct the jury, sua sponte, on accomplice testimony, we concluded that '[b]ecause the defendant waived his right to raise the present claim of instructional error, he is foreclosed from seeking consideration under the plain error doctrine.' Id., 810–11.

Upon granting the defendant's petition for certification to appeal from our previous decision, the Supreme Court has now directed this court to consider the defendant's claim of plain error in light of State v. McClain, 324 Conn. 802, 155 A.3d 209 (2017), which held that an implied waiver of a claim of instructional error pursuant to State v. Kitchens, 299 Conn. 447, 482–83, 10 A.3d 942 (2011), does not preclude an evaluation of that claim under the plain error doctrine. State v. McClain, supra, 815. After consideration of the defendant's claim, we conclude that plain error does not exist, and, accordingly, we affirm the judgment.")

• Posted in:
• Criminal Law & Procedure,
• Recent Opinions

AC38893 - Rosenthal v. Bloomfield ("The plaintiffs, a group of twenty-four retirees from the Bloomfield Police Department, appeal from the judgment of the trial court granting the motion for a judgment of dismissal filed by the defendant town of Bloomfield (town) pursuant to Practice Book § 15-8 for failure to make out a prima facie case. The plaintiffs claim that the court erred in so ruling because the evidence submitted set forth a prima facie case that the town breached the parties' collective bargaining agreement by failing to offer insurance benefits that are comparable to benefits under a prior health insurance plan. We disagree and affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

• Posted in:
• Contract Law,
• Recent Opinions

The Office of Legislative Research has recently published the following reports:

Issue Brief: Concussion Laws- 2017-R-0211 - This report summarizes Connecticut's laws on concussions.

Misrepresentation of a Service Animal - 2017-R-0255 - This report summarizes Massachusetts's proposed bill about misrepresenting a service animal. It discusses whether Connecticut or any other state enacted a similar law.

Light Pollution Laws - 2017-R-0258 - This report summarizes Connecticut's laws that address light pollution and gives a brief overview of related laws in other states.

Connecticut Hospital Regulation - 2017-R-0277 - This report briefly summarizes how Connecticut’s acute care hospitals are regulated. It also describes actions nonprofit acute care hospitals must take to maintain their 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.

• Posted in:
• FYI,
• Legal Research,
• Self-Help

Wednesday November 22nd

• Danbury Law Library is closed all day.
• Hartford Law Library opens at 12:30 p.m. and closes at 4:30 p.m.
• Middletown Law Library will close at 12:30 p.m.
• Putnam Law Library is closed all day.
• Torrington Law Library opens at 1:00 p.m.
  

Thursday November 23rd

• All Connecticut Judicial Branch Law Libraries are closed in observance of Thanksgiving.
  

Friday November 24th

• Bridgeport Law Library is closed.
• Danbury Law Library is closed.
• New Britain Law Library is closed.
• New London Law Library is closed.
• Rockville Law Library is closed.
• Stamford Law Library is closed.

• Posted in:
• Library Notices

The Connecticut Law Journal, Volume LXXIX, No. 21, for November 21, 2017 is now available.

Contained in this issue is the following:

• Table of Contents
• Volume 324 Conn. Replacement Pages 654 - 654
• Volume 327: Connecticut Reports (Pages 114 - 172)
• Volume 327: Orders (Pages 956 - 959)
• Volume 327: Cumulative Table of Cases Connecticut Reports
• Volume 178: Connecticut Appellate Reports (Pages 112 - 257)
• Volume 178: Memorandum Decisions (Pages 902 - 902)
• Volume 178: Cumulative Table of Cases Connecticut Appellate Reports
• Miscellaneous Notices
• Notices of Connecticut State Agencies

• Posted in:
• Connecticut Law Journal,
• Recent Opinions

Tuesday November 21st

• Middletown Law Library closes at 2:30 p.m.
  

Wednesday November 22nd

• Danbury Law Library is closed all day.
• Hartford Law Library opens at 12:30 p.m. and closes at 4:30 p.m.
• Putnam Law Library is closed all day.
• Torrington Law Library opens at 1:00 p.m.
  

Thursday November 23rd

• All Connecticut Judicial Branch Law Libraries are closed in observance of Thanksgiving.
  

Friday November 24th

• Bridgeport Law Library is closed.
• Danbury Law Library is closed.
• New Britain Law Library is closed.
• New London Law Library is closed.
• Rockville Law Library is closed.
• Stamford Law Library is closed.

• Posted in:
• Library Notices

The U.S. District Court of Connecticut has posted a notice regarding proposed revisions to the court's local rules. The following rules have proposed revisions:

Local Civil Rule 30 Depositions

Local Civil Rule 67 Deposit Of Funds In Court Registry

Local Civil Rule 68 Offers of Judgment and Compromise

Local Civil Rule 77.1 Entry of Orders and Judgments; Miscellaneous

Local Civil Rule 79 Docket Numbers

Local Civil Rule 80 Court Reporters

Local Civil Rule 81 Naturalization Sessions of the Court

Local Civil Rule 83.1 Admission of Attorneys

Local Civil Rule 83.2 Discipline of Attorneys

Local Civil Rule 83.3 Security for Costs

Local Civil Rule 83.5 Secrecy of Jury Deliberation and Grand Jury Proceedings

Local Civil Rule 83.6 Removal of Papers and Exhibits

Local Civil Rule 83.7 Transfer of Cases to Another District or Upon Remand to a

State Court

Local Civil Rule 83.8 Orders for Extension of Filing Record on Appeal

Local Civil Rule 83.9 Law Student Internship Rules

Local Civil Rule 83.10 Civil Pro Bono Panel (both redlined and clean copy attached)

Local Civil Rule 83.12 Auxiliary Orders

Civil Appendix Form 26(F) Report Of Parties’ Planning Meeting

• Proposed Local Rule Revisions

• Posted in:
• Civil Procedure,
• Court Rules,
• FYI

AC39034 - Beck & Beck, LLC v. Costello ("The defendant, James T. Costello, appeals from the trial court’s dismissal of his amended counterclaims and cross claims against the plaintiff, Beck & Beck, LLC, and the counterclaim defendant, Kenneth A. Beck. On appeal, the defendant argues that the court erroneously dismissed his counterclaims and cross claims for lack of standing after finding that the claims belonged to his bankruptcy estate and not to him. We disagree, and accordingly, affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

• Posted in:
• Contract Law,
• Recent Opinions

AC39856 - Picard v. Guilford House, LLC ("This matter comes before this court on a writ of error brought by the plaintiff in error, Linda Lehmann, former attorney for the plaintiff in the underlying action, Angela Picard. The plaintiff in error challenges the order of the trial court, Miller, J. imposing financial sanctions upon her for misconduct while conducting an out-of-state deposition in the underlying action. We conclude that the court did not abuse its discretion in imposing the challenged sanctions. Accordingly, we dismiss the writ of error.")

• Posted in:
• Legal Malpractice & Attorney Discipline Law,
• Medical Malpractice Law,
• Recent Opinions

SC19678 - State v. Urbanowski (Assault second degree; breach of peace second degree; strangulation second degree; threatening second degree; certification from Appellate Court; "After examining the entire record on appeal and considering the briefs and oral arguments of the parties before this court, we have determined that the judgment of the Appellate Court should be affirmed. We do not consider whether the Appellate Court properly concluded that the trial court had abused its discretion in admitting the uncharged misconduct evidence because we agree that any such error would be harmless for the reasons given by the Appellate Court. Because the Appellate Court's well reasoned opinion fully addresses the certified question, it would serve no purpose for us to repeat the discussion contained therein. We therefore adopt the Appellate Court's opinion as the proper statement of the issue of harmlessness and the applicable law concerning that issue. See, e.g., Recall Total Information Management, Inc. v. Federal Ins. Co., 317 Conn. 46, 51, 115 A.3d 458 (2015)

The judgment of the Appellate Court is affirmed.")

AC39878 - State v. Eddie N. C. (Risk of injury to child; sexual assault in first degree; "The defendant, Eddie N. C., appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a jury trial, of three counts of sexual assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-70 (a) (2); three counts of risk of injury to a child in violation of General Statutes § 53-21 (a) (2); and one count of risk of injury to a child in violation of General Statutes § 53-21 (a) (1). The defendant claims that the trial court improperly admitted (1) prior misconduct testimony, (2) statements made by the victim, A, to her mother, treating physicians, and a social worker under the medical diagnosis and treatment exception to the hearsay rule, and (3) opinion evidence regarding the ultimate issue of whether A had been sexually assaulted, which the defendant claims constitutes plain error. We disagree and, accordingly, affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

AC36250 - State v. Bialowas (Manslaughter in second degree; evasion of responsibility in operation of motor vehicle in violation of statute ([Rev. to 2009] § 14-224 [a]); "The defendant was convicted of manslaughter in the second degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-56 and evasion of responsibility in the operation of a motor vehicle in violation of General Statutes (Rev. to 2009) § 14-224 (a). He was sentenced to twenty years of imprisonment, execution suspended after fifteen years, followed by five years of probation. He appealed, claiming that the trial court committed plain error by failing to instruct the jury that a defendant's reasonable fear of harm from the victim would be a defense to the charge of failing to stop and render assistance under § 14-224 (a). This court affirmed the defendant's conviction, holding that he had waived his challenge to the evasion of responsibility jury instruction under State v. Kitchens, 299 Conn. 447, 10 A.3d 942 (2016). See State v. Bialowas, 160 Conn. App. 417, 125 A.3d 642 (2015), remanded, 325 Conn. 917, 163 A.3d 1204 (2017). The defendant filed a petition for certification to the Supreme Court, arguing that this court improperly failed to conduct a plain error review of his claim of error with respect to the evasion of responsibility instruction. While the petition was pending, our Supreme Court released its decision in State v. McClain, 324 Conn. 802, 812, 155 A.3d 209 (2017), holding that a Kitchens waiver does not preclude appellate relief under the plain error doctrine. Thus, the Supreme Court granted the defendant's petition and remanded the matter to this court. State v. Bialowas, 325 Conn. 917, 163 A.3d 1204 (2017). In light of McClain, we review the defendant's claim pursuant to the plain error doctrine and, accordingly, affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

• Posted in:
• Criminal Law & Procedure,
• Recent Opinions

AC38958 - Crocker v. Commissioner of Correction ("In his petition, he alleged that he illegally was placed in administrative segregation. The petitioner is now incarcerated in a facility in Massachusetts and thus no longer in administrative segregation in Connecticut. Because the petitioner has failed to establish that this court could provide him any practical relief in reviewing his claim, we conclude that his appeal is moot. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed.")

• Posted in:
• Habeas Corpus Law,
• Recent Opinions

AC39220 - Housing Authority v. Rodriguez ("The defendant Romana Sanchez Rodriguez appeals from the judgment of the trial court rendered in favor of the plaintiff, the Housing Authority of the Town of Greenwich (housing authority), on its summary process complaint. On appeal, the defendant claims that the court did not have jurisdiction to hear the plaintiff's case because the plaintiff failed to serve her with a second pretermination notice pursuant to General Statutes § 47a-15, and that a grievance hearing decision barred the plaintiff from evicting her on the basis of alleged lease violations described in a prior pretermination notice that the plaintiff served on her within six months of the notice to quit. We disagree. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the court.")

• Posted in:
• Landlord / Tenant Law,
• Recent Opinions

AC40202 - In re Jacob W. (Termination of parental rights; "On appeal, the petitioner challenges the trial court’s conclusion that she had failed to prove the nonexistence of an ongoing parent-child relationship by clear and convincing evidence as required by General Statutes § 45a-717 (g) (2) (C).3 The petitioner argues, inter alia, that the trial court applied the incorrect legal test to determine whether such a relationship exists by focusing on the respondent’s actions rather than the children’s feelings.4 We agree that the trial court applied the incorrect test because the court legally and logically cannot have found both that a parent-child relationship exists and that the custodians prevented such a relationship from existing. Moreover, even under the test as applied, the trial court’s conclusions are inconsistent. Accordingly, we reverse the judgments of the trial court and remand the case for a new trial.")

AC40517 - In re Damian G. (Termination of parental rights; “The respondent claims that the court erroneously found that: (1) she failed to rehabilitate and (2) the termination of her parental rights was in the best interests of the children. We affirm the judgments of the trial court... The respondent has failed to demonstrate that any of the court’s findings were clearly erroneous. The court’s best interest determination rests on a variety of findings, several of which are not challenged on appeal.”)

• Posted in:
• Juvenile Law,
• Recent Opinions

Friday November 17th

• Torrington Law Library is open 10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
• Waterbury Law Library is closed.

Monday November 20th

• Torrington Law Library is open from 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Wednesday November 22nd

• Danbury Law Library is closed all day.
• Hartford Law Library opens at 12:30 p.m.
• Putnam Law Library is closed all day.
• Torrington Law Library opens at 1:00 p.m.
  

Thursday November 23rd

• All Connecticut Judicial Branch Law Libraries are closed in observance of Thanksgiving.
  

Friday November 24th

• Bridgeport Law Library is closed.
• Danbury Law Library is closed.
• New Britain Law Library is closed.
• New London Law Library is closed.
• Rockville Law Library is closed.
• Stamford Law Library is closed.

• Posted in:
• Library Notices

The Office of Legislative Research has recently published the following reports:

Displaced Children from Puerto Rico and the Federal McKinney-Vento Act - 2017-R-0250
This report summarizes the procedures and policies necessary to comply with the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvement Act regarding displaced children arriving in Connecticut from Puerto Rico.

OLR Backgrounder: Cigarette and Tobacco Taxes - 2017-R-0110
This report briefly explains Connecticut's cigarette and tobacco products taxes and how they compare to similar taxes in surrounding states.

Price Gouging During Severe Weather - 2017-R-0275
This report summarizes the state law prohibiting price gouging during a severe weather event.

Issue Brief: Temporary Family Assistance - 2017-R-0271
This issue brief explains Temporary Family Assistance in Connecticut, including program structure, program financing, and eligibility requirements.

• Posted in:
• FYI,
• Legal Research,
• Self-Help

The Office of Legislative Research has published its Summary of 2017 Public Acts. This 402 page book summarizes "...all public acts and one resolution act passed during the Connecticut General Assembly’s September 2016 Special Session and the 2017 Regular Session." A listing of all the 2017 vetoed acts is on page 5 and a table of criminal fines and penalties is on page 6.

• Summary of 2017 Public Acts (PDF - 402 pages)

• Posted in:
• FYI,
• New Legislation